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Inazuman (TV series)
was produced by Toei Company Ltd. and broadcast on NET (now TV Asahi) from October 2, 1973 to March 26, 1974, with a total of 25 episodes. The series starred Daisuke Ban (as Naoya Ban) of Kikaider fame in the title role as he fights Emperor Banba and his mutant minions. The entire 48-episode series was broadcast (with English subtitles) on KIKU-TV in Honolulu, Hawaii in the mid-1970s, during the height of the popularity of tokusatsu programs ignited by the success of Kikaider in 1974. Story As Watari Goro and his friend Marume Gosaku are walking home from college classes one evening, they discover two children being attacked by evil mutants. Fighting the creatures off, Watari discovers that the kids are part of the Youth League and their adversaries were Fantom Army foot soldiers from the Neo-human Empire. The Neo-humans, led by Emperor Bamba, know that the Earth's resources are limited and that in a few years famine will strike and there will not be enough food for everyone. Their plan is to wipe out humanity so that Neo-humans will be able to have all of the resources during the hard times to come. The Youth League, a group of kids with secret bases throughout Japan, is fighting the Neo-humans with limited success. When their leader, Capt. Sarra (who pretty much disappears after the first episode,) tests Watari however he discovers that Goro is a very powerful mutant. Putting him into one of their advanced machines, the Youth League activates Watari's abilities. He's then able to shout "Summon Massive Power" and turn into Sanagiman! Not only that, but when "Sanagiman matures, his belt reaches maximum and he becomes Inazuman!" Capt. Sarra also gives him a special car, Raijingo. This colorful vehicle can not only speed along the roads, but it can fly and has air-to-air missiles that it launches from its 'mouth.' With his new powers, which include the ability to teleport, turn his scarf into a giant chain, and the "Supreme Lightning Strike that finishes off his opponents, Inazuman battles Emperor Bamba, the head of the Neo-humans, and his hoard of monsters. Characters |Goro Watari |} Allies *Gosaku Marume Youth League *Captain Sara *Satoko Ogi *Katsumi Ogi *Kaoru Tomikawa *Captain Sara Villains Neo-Human Empire Phantom Army * Emperor Banba * Phantom Soldiers *Mutant Creatures *Shinobu Watari Episodes # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # Cast *Watari Goro: Daisuke Ban (伴 大介 Ban Daisuke) *Gosaku Marume: Kōichi Kitamura (北村晃一 Kitamura Kōichi) *Satoko Ogi: Mari Sakurai (桜井 マリ Sakurai Mari) *Katsumi Ogi: Yoshikazu Yamada (山田 芳一 Yamada Yoshikazu) *Kaoru Tomikawa: Fusayo Fukawa (府川 房代 Fukawa Fusayo) *Captain Sara: Hideo Murota (室田 日出男 Murota Hideo) *Emperor Banba (Voice): Shōzō Iizuka (飯塚 昭三 Iizuka Shōzō) *Shinobu Watari: Yūko Hamada (浜田 ゆう子 Hamada Yūko) *Narrator: Ichirō Murakoshi (村越伊知郎 Murakoshi Ichirō) Suit actors * Inazuman: Bunya Nakamura (中村 文弥 Nakamura Bunya) * Emperor Banba: Rikiya Ikeda (池田 力也 Ikeda Rikiya) Notes * Inazuman is the fourth Tokusatsu series to be released by the Hawaiian company JN Productions on Region 1. DVD. * In episode 24, a new group appears which hates mutants but is not on the side of normal humans either, and Inazuman discovers that a new enemy threatens the peace of the world. *Inazuman was created from an idea called "Mutant Z" by Hatano Yoshifumi, a Toei producer of animated programs (including one of the Cyborg 009 animated series) and was originally planned to be an animated series. This changed, and Inazuman wound up becoming a Tokusatsu in the vein of Kamen Rider, Kikaider & other tokusatsu series.